The Advocate

June 26, 2004

People of the Book

New synagogue's design invites worshipers - and criticism

STAMFORD- The new synagogue and daycare center on High Ridge Road has a novel design inspired by theology and history: It's shaped like a large book with open pages facing the road.

The design for the building, the new home of Chabad Lubavltch of Greater Stamford, is symbolic of Judaism, said its architect, Elena Kalman of Stamford.

"The Jews are usually called 'people of the book,'" she said. "What was holding the nation together was not the land, which they did not have for many, many years, or the language, because many people did not speak it. It was the book."

The movement that is now Chabad Lubavitch was born more than 200 years ago and was based in the town of Lubavitch in modern-day Belarus.

Chabad does not have a set membership, but encourages members of all divisions of Judaism to come to its centers and attend services, said Rabbi Yisrael Deren, leader of the Stamford group. Chabad is more active about seeking people to attend services than most Jewish groups, he said, and that is part of the reason for the design of the High Ridge Road center.

"We are more of an outreach organization. We are unique in that respect." Deren said. "We are an open book. Come inside and study it."

The book design, which is continued in the classrooms at the rear of the building, also exemplifies "an intellectual relationship with God," Deren said.

The inside wall of the center's curved book-shaped front will hold the group's Torah scrolls, Deren said. A small, round window forms the base of the group's flame logo and lets a shaft of light into the sanctuary. A series of skylights pierce the ceiling.

The building, which will include a preschool and day-care center, will cost more than $3 million when furnished, Deren said.

Neighbors have not been as pleased with the building's design and construction, which was approved by the Stamford Zoning Board of Appeals in 2001.

Trees in the rear of the property were cut down when they should have remained, the building is larger than represented when the plan was approved and the center will create too much traffic, they said.

"They took trees down," said Elizabeth Hagander, one of the neighbors. "We feel it was not a mistake, that it was done deliberately."

Richard Redniss, a land use consultant for Chabad, said some trees were cleared by mistake. The center will talk to neighbors about what may be done to mitigate their concerns about the project and the trees, he said.

"We hope to be going back to the neighbors and perhaps to the ZBA," he said. "There are certain things that we need to do."

Some aspects of the project may be changed, including plantings, fencing and the placement of playgrounds, which may be redesigned to benefit neighbors, Redniss said.

Hagander and the other nearby neighbors also worry about vehicles pulling onto High Ridge Road, across traffic.

"One of the main issucs is the traffic," she said. Parking also is a problem, she said, even when only construction workers are in the center.

Paul Hirsch, president of P&H Construction Associates Inc. which is doing the work, said the building is a combination of wood and steel framing.

"What is a little different is in the two-story portion (where) we have a combination of wood and steel," he said. While bending the plywood sheathing over the curved front of the synagogue, his crews worked with Kalman to ensure the building had the right look, Hirsch said.

"It definitely makes the building unique-looking," he said.

Some other features of the building have been added during construction, which will be completed this fall, he said.

For instance, platforms like small stages have been built in some of the classrooms. Some of the classroom windows, which can be seen from those platforms, are at different heights for children of different ages, Kalman said.

Though she does not routinely attend Chabad services, Kalman is Jewish, which makes the project important to her, she said.

"This may be the only synagogue I will get to build," Kalman said.